Readers Speak: The BIGGEST problems India faces

Readers Speak: The BIGGEST problems India faces

As we prepare to celebrate India's 63rd birthday on August 15, we asked readers to identify the top five problem areas that India needs to set right immediately.

Hundreds of our readers wrote in with their comments, opinions and insights. Their suggestions ranged from the very serious to the extremely bizarre!

We start with some...errm...unusual comments from our readers.

Frank G says: Leave the country2. Migrate to developed nations and be a part of their prosperity.3. NEVER COME BACK4. NEVER EVER COME BACK5. NEVER THINK ABOUT COMING BACK

Dr Dang says: India is not fixable. It should be totally destroyed and a new country needs to take birth in its place. Mahapralay (The Day of Reckoning) is coming soon.

Obama says: Indians should invade forcefully the countries which have a larger land mass. Australia is bigger than India in land mass, but has only two crore people. Identify such places and let us do mass invasion.

But here is a list of issues that, according to most of you, hamper India's forward journey and need urgent attention. Click on NEXT to read more...

Corruption

An overwhelming number of readers believe that corruption is the deadliest disease that is plaguing our country.

Usha Dhana says: Corrupt politicians

2. Corrupt officials (from top to bottom)

3. Corrupt media

4. Corrupt public (get money/things to give their vote)

5. Corruption, corruption, corruption

Anirudh Tambe says: The less said about this monster the better it will be. It has become a way of life. No walk of life is untouched by corruption. Criminals go scot-free. Honest people lag behind in every walk of life.

Thunderstorm says: This year we are going to concentrate on the following developments. We will encourage corruption in all sectors so that government employees will not need any pension after retirement. This way we can save lots of money and we will spend this money on hosting a tournament like the Commonwealth Games.

V S says: Corruption and arrogance of politicians and bureaucrats is a remnant of the Raja Praja culture.

Abhishek says: Get rid of the corrupt politicians, babus and raid all the high officials of commercial enterprises. Seize all the illegal money made by them and tax them heavily. Put them behind bars for a longtime.

A honest general from the Army should take over the country and declare a state of emergency. Continue emergency for a long time.

Shanker says: Scoundrels and thieves are masquerading as political leaders.

Population

Authorities in India, which will surpass China as the most populous country by 2050, need to take a few lessons from our readers:

Vijay says: Make family planning compulsory for all. If anyone has more than one child, he/she should be deprived of all facilities like voting, contesting in elections, government jobs etc.

Pathvec says: Overpopulation is the mother of all problems. Overpopulation leads to more greed, it leads to corruption.

Krishnan Anant says: Population is the basic issue which leads to all other issues. India's population is nearly 110 crores. All of them have their individual needs of food, clothes, shelter, education and employment.

Health

India's heath sector remains a serious cause of concern. Despite the government's many promises, access to proper healthcare at reasonable rates is still a distant dream for millions of Indians.

Anirudh Tambe says: The condition of most of our government hospitals, even in big towns, is pathetic to say the least. The less said about our rural health centres, the better. Good doctors are averse to going to small towns. Those who go, do not take their jobs seriously.

Rajiv Sareen says: The government should have stringent control over consumable items and medicines.

Abhay Kumar says: Every village should have a health centre with infrastructure and staffers.

Should Indians change?

Surprisingly, a lot of readers felt that Indians had to change themselves before they could demand changes in other fields of life. The lack of civic sense, especially, seems to be a common cause of gripe.

Pathvec says: Indians are penny wise but pound foolish. We need to do basic research in politics and choose the right government.

Saravanan Subramanian says: People should start obeying rules such as traffic rules, apply patience while driving, have basic discipline such as throwing discards in trash bins etc. People should stop accepting illegal benefits for vote, stop leader or star worship. They should be ready to improve tolerance on criticism and grow more on self-confidence.